Introduction

Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google and is based upon a modified version of the Linux kernel. It was initially developed by Android Inc. (a firm purchased by Google) and later positioned in the Open Handset Alliance. Let me tell you more about open handset alliance. The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) is a business alliance of 78 firms for developing open standards for mobile devices. Member firms include Google, HTC, Dell, Intel. Motorola, Qualcomn, Texas Instruments, Samsung, LG, T-Mobile, Nvidia and Wind River Systems.


The OHA was established on 5 November 2007, led by Google with 34 members including mobile handset makers, application developers, some mobile carriers and chip makers. Android, the flagship software of the alliance, is based on an open source license and competes against mobile platforms from Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, Research In Motion, Symbian, and bada. At the same time as the announcement of the formation of the Open Handset Alliance on 5 November 2007, the OHA also unveiled Android, an open source mobile phone platform based on the Linux operating system.

Android has a large community of developers writing application programs ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. There are currently over 70,000 apps available for Android with some estimates saying 100,000 have been submitted, which makes it the second most popular mobile development environment. Developers write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.

Android OS usage share

• Android 2.1 (Eclair) - 41.7%
• Android 2.2 (Froyo) - 28.7%
• Android 1.6 (Donut) - 17.5%
• Android 1.5 (Cupcake) - 12.0%

According to Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney, Android is based on a clean room reversed-engineered version of Java, called Dalvik, which was developed without using any Sun technology or intellectual property. Oracle says Dalvik is a competitor to Java and infringes several of its patents, which are listed in the complaint, and its Java copyright. While officially claiming that "Android is not Java", Google at the same time calls the suit "attack on Java community", likely making difference between "official Java" and "Java in general".

What Will Drive Android Adoption?

Android is targeted primarily at developers, with Google and the OHA betting that the way to deliver better mobile software to consumers is by making it easier for developers to write it themselves.

As a development platform, Android is powerful and intuitive, letting developers who have never programmed for mobile devices create useful applications quickly and easily. It’s easy to see how innovative Android applications could create demand for the devices necessary to run them, particularly if developers write applications for Android because they can’t write them for other platforms.

Open access to the nuts and bolts of the underlying system is what’s always driven software development and platform adoption. The Internet’s inherent openness and neutrality have seen it become the platform for a multi-billion-dollar industry within 10 years of its inception. Before that, it was open systems like Linux and the powerful APIs provided as part of the Windows operating system that enabled the explosion in personal computers and the movement of computer programming from the arcane to the mainstream.

This openness and power ensure that anyone with the inclination can bring a vision to life at minimal cost. So far, that’s not been the case for mobile phones, and that’s why there are so few good mobile phone applications and fewer still available for free.